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E82 / E88 1 Series (2008 - 2013) BMWs throw back to the iconic 2002, with a renewed form and function. The smallest car in BMW's line up but still packs a punch. Available in coupe or convertible, powered by either an inline 6 in the 128 or the twin turbo rocket sled 135.

Did BMW do what Mercedes did by taking out the Dipstick from the engine to force people to take their cars to BMW for service and oil changes? If so, that's FUC**D When I got my oil changed the guy told me that there was no dipstick in the engine to see how much oil the car had in it and how much more it needed I was told that one could see how much it needed from the dashboard computer. I went there but I think I only found the oil pressure reader and not the reader that tells you how much oil is in the engine becasue one can only get the thing to work when the car is on and running. If the car is running then one can't tell how much oil is in there because oil is shooting up every where in the engine

There was a recent discussion on this very topic on the E90 board. You may wanna search for it.

The short answer is that BMW did get rid of the dipstick in favor of the electronic reading, which has already turned out to be malfulctioning for some owners.

Extremely dumb move if you ask me, but some people seem to like it saying they would never have checked the dipstick themselves anyway.

That was the stupidest thing that they could do! Now they want everyone to take their car to the dealership for just an oil change. One can not see if the car is low on oil or see the color of the oil by him-self thanks to this new technology of theirs. I played with that computer on my car for hours today and could not find a thing on an oil reading. I guess if one read the manual to see exactly how much oil it takes and waited for the last drop of oil one could estimate that it is perfect or right on the dot but unable to verify the exact amount of oil that is in there with his or her own eyes visually. I am very unhappy about this

Hi stylinexpat from the pic u attached you're a quarter low on oil. BMW now uses electronic gauge and got rid of the stick. Plus side less weight to carry I hear ur point on checking the colour of the oil. I guess you can do this now by removing the oil cap, majority of time this will have oil residual on it.

Hi stylinexpat from the pic u attached you're a quarter low on oil. BMW now uses electronic gauge and got rid of the stick. Plus side less weight to carry I hear ur point on checking the colour of the oil. I guess you can do this now by removing the oil cap, majority of time this will have oil residual on it.

There are two bar marks on there. One to the left of the OK sign and one to the right of the OK sign. The one to the right claims Max so how can it be low?

Previously, you had to run the engine, warm it up, then shut it off for five minutes to get an accurate reading of the oil level. Now, you need to have the engine running for some length of time, before checking the level.

Both methods are equally inconvenient for adding oil to the engine. It's not that hard to read the manual and add the appropriate volume: that's what I do all the time. Are you telling me you used to just keep adding oil until the dipstick showed full?

It is stupid of them to get rid of the dipstick because it forces you to depend on the sensor, but I fail to see why it requires you to take it to the dealership to change the oil.

And I don't understand why you say you can't figure out how to get the computer to tell you the oil level, when your post includes a picture of the oil level readout...

My friend has a Cayman S, same kind of oil sensor. He said the Cayman boards are full of complaints about not being able to check the oil via dipstick. He's had some trouble as well. They're saying not to add any oil until it reads more than a quart low.

I really dislike this trend in sealed engines relying on a $50 sensor keeping $20k from self destructing.

No dipstick, no temp gauge, no possibility to belt up with the cabin lights on unless a door is kept open if you slot the new style cartridge key into the ignition slot, left handed engine start/stop button on RHD cars, indicators that have a mind of their own thanks to the electronic stalk control, i-Drive that requires more steps to do a simple operation like air flow re-direction than with conventional knobs - what next BMW? You used to understand what serious drivers wanted. Sadly no more.

Previously, you had to run the engine, warm it up, then shut it off for five minutes to get an accurate reading of the oil level. Now, you need to have the engine running for some length of time, before checking the level.

Both methods are equally inconvenient for adding oil to the engine. It's not that hard to read the manual and add the appropriate volume: that's what I do all the time. Are you telling me you used to just keep adding oil until the dipstick showed full?

It is stupid of them to get rid of the dipstick because it forces you to depend on the sensor, but I fail to see why it requires you to take it to the dealership to change the oil.

And I don't understand why you say you can't figure out how to get the computer to tell you the oil level, when your post includes a picture of the oil level readout...

Does that the indicator read the oil pressure or oil level? The indicator its self does not tell you what it indicates but how can it give an accurate oil level reading if the engine is idling and oil is every where in the engine?

Previously, you had to run the engine, warm it up, then shut it off for five minutes to get an accurate reading of the oil level. Now, you need to have the engine running for some length of time, before checking the level.

Both methods are equally inconvenient for adding oil to the engine. It's not that hard to read the manual and add the appropriate volume: that's what I do all the time. Are you telling me you used to just keep adding oil until the dipstick showed full?

It is stupid of them to get rid of the dipstick because it forces you to depend on the sensor, but I fail to see why it requires you to take it to the dealership to change the oil.

And I don't understand why you say you can't figure out how to get the computer to tell you the oil level, when your post includes a picture of the oil level readout...

The car is new to me and I was always used to :
1) Checking the manual for the required amount of oil to be added
2) Adding the required amount of oil less half a quart
3) Checking the amount of oil present in the engine after via dipstick provided by manufacturer.
4) Topping off oil after to amount required .

stylinexpat
I checked the manual and there are 5 possible displays you can get when you select the oil.
1. Oil Level OK this is what the pic u attached is saying
2. you can see a "min - a clock icon - max" - This mean that you have to wait about 3 minutes to get a reading if the car is at a standstill on a level surface or about 5 mins if the car is moving. You can normally get this when you just started the car.
3. +1L on the display will mean the oil level is down to minimum. You need to add no more than 1 litre or 1.9Imp. pint of oil.
4. >MAX - Oil is too high or too much engine oil
5. INACTIVE - The oil level is defective.

stylinexpat
I checked the manual and there are 5 possible displays you can get when you select the oil.
1. Oil Level OK this is what the pic u attached is saying
2. you can see a "min - a clock icon - max" - This mean that you have to wait about 3 minutes to get a reading if the car is at a standstill on a level surface or about 5 mins if the car is moving. You can normally get this when you just started the car.
3. +1L on the display will mean the oil level is down to minimum. You need to add no more than 1 litre or 1.9Imp. pint of oil.
4. >MAX - Oil is too high or too much engine oil
5. INACTIVE - The oil level is defective.

I hope this helps.

Thanks Mine is right at the Max line while not being over. I will take out some oil then, probably 1/2 pint to see what it shows at then.

BMW in Taiwan says that most of the time the digital display reading is off. We drained the oil out completely today, put in 4 Quarts of oil and started the engine up to see what it would read. It read full again or Max. Let the car sit for 30 minutes and started it back up watching that little thing run in circles trying to calculate the oil that is in there . Then again it read full, but it could not possible be at Max with just 4 quarts in there, so we added another quart to make it 5 quarts in there and it read Max again after letting sit for another 15 minutes and rechecking the oil level. This was done leaving the oil filter in there. The thing is not accurate in any way or is not working. We asked BMW what they would do and they said that most of them seem to have the same problem and the only thing that they could advise us to do is empty or drain the oil out completely, replace oil filter ( Drain oil from there as well ) and put in the amount advised by the manufacturer. We asked if w could double check the level after or if there was any other way of verifying the amount of oil that was in there and we told " NO! " since the dipstick was eliminated by the manufacturer now. They too have complained to the head office in Germany we were told.

I hope the computers of the future can sniff out these IDIOTS that make useless comments. This is a forum about BMWS therefore maybe even "problems" with BMWS. I guess it is true that everywhere you go is like a classroom and you might have an IDIOT on your right or left that thinks it's FUNNY to be the class clown. GEEZ, I guess we should just be happy we do not have to see these sad souls in person.

Dry sump engines make it nigh impossible to get an accurate reading with a dipstick. Iirc the n54 is such an engine.

If you had used the manual instead of being a dipshít with the computer all afternoon, you would know far more about the car. Ignorance is bliss, I guess.

I agree that the dipstick is superior but you have to remember that most people don't know that the hood comes up. Insert gas, push button, push accelerator. Hell, people can't even understand the logistics of a 4-way stop in Vancover, let alone the finer points of automobile maintenance.

My car takes 6.5 liters of oil. I drain out the oil and add 6.5 liters. The first time, i measured it. After that, I haven't bothered. The cans are, shockingly, labelled correctly as to their contents.

Dry sump engines make it nigh impossible to get an accurate reading with a dipstick. Iirc the n54 is such an engine.

If you had used the manual instead of being a dipshít with the computer all afternoon, you would know far more about the car. Ignorance is bliss, I guess.

I agree that the dipstick is superior but you have to remember that most people don't know that the hood comes up. Insert gas, push button, push accelerator. Hell, people can't even understand the logistics of a 4-way stop in Vancover, let alone the finer points of automobile maintenance.

My car takes 6.5 liters of oil. I drain out the oil and add 6.5 liters. The first time, i measured it. After that, I haven't bothered. The cans are, shockingly, labelled correctly as to their contents.

Is this true in the USA? As you may know, we have these wierd measures left over from Colonial times, that we have never changed because of our adherence to traditional family values.